I’m from the upper, upper east side, also known as Connecticut. I’m currently in the East Village. I’m going to a brownstone somewhere.

4: Who is your biggest hero?

Ed Zschau, who is an enterpreneur, professor, father, techie, softball coach, change agent, elected politician, and atrocious, but inspiring, singer. He definitely inspired a lot of the actions I take, including starting KeepRecipes.com .

5: What book is your bible?

I don’t have a bible, but I do have an anti-bibile. Despite it’s violence and graphic nature, American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis is one of my favorite books. The author took such risks in writing such a distinctive book. I aim to do and be the opposite of the characters in the book.

6: What are some things you love? And some things you hate?

I love eating a toasted bagel with lox in an East Village community garden in the spring, when trees are blooming, birds are chirping, and the sun is out.

I hate it when the Giants get my hopes up all week, and then lose on Sunday afternoon. Even though it has happened hundreds of times now, I still let my dreams grow all week…

7: What is your raison d’être?

To make and experience things that are different, awesome, fun, and tasty.

8: What is your favorite color?

Blue.

9: Who is your favorite comic book superhero?

Mayor Bloomberg is my favorite comic book superhero. He’s a self made billionaire who became a benevolent dictator in the capital of the free world. What’s great about Mayor Bloomberg is that he’s reached comic book superhero status in real life.

10: What is your favorite NYC hot spot?

Momofuko Ssam Bar is always hot for me. The new all-duck lunch menu is great.

11: What turns you on?

Hot pork, particularly if full of smoke and salt with a hint sweetness. We have a recipe from Abigail Kirsch for Chocolate Covered Bacon on KeepRecipes.com that has been turning me on for weeks now.

12: What would the last question of this questionnaire be if you were the one asking?

In the shower, do you primarily face towards the water when you shower or face away? I thought EVERYONE faced away. It sounds like it might be a 50/50 split. A friend is running a survey to get the answer to this very important question. Help us out by answering this question here.

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Phil Michaelson has always had a passion for food. He came up with the idea for KeepRecipes and it’s soon-to-be-launched app after his first company, KartMe, took flight. The 29-year-old entrepreneur wanted to be able to save, organize, and share everything from book suggestions and travel tips, to the restaurants and recipes, among his family and friends. He used knowledge garnered while attending Princeton University, Harvard Business School, and as a Senior Consultant at IBM to create and launch a website and mobile app that would do just that. Being a foodie at heart, Michaelson wanted to be able to snap a picture at dinner and have the dish and its recipe stored immediately on his iPhone so that it was accessible on his next trip to the grocery store or farmer’s market. He wanted to access book, movie and CD recommendations and reviews all in one place that he could share globally with the click of a button.

Michaelson knew he could make a website and app that could do all of that and more, which led to the creation of KartMe with a grant from Harvard Business School’s entrepreneurship center. The site launched at the end of 2009, and after Apple labeled the mobile web app a “Staff Pick”, thousands of people began to share and store wedding lists, décor ideas, fashion and beauty products and suggestions.
But it was recipes that made up the vast majority of the 25,000+ items stored on KartMe. That was the moment when Michaelson knew he had the ingredients to cook up his latest one-stop-shop called KeepRecipes. On the new site, registered users can showcase dishes they just cooked and ones they want to try, in addition to collecting and saving recipes that have been in the family for generations. Though still in beta testing, KeepRecipes currently has 3,000 members and organized over 1,000 easy to follow recipes with photos on display.

Phil Michaelson’s vision of KeepRecipes is to make it the ‘iTunes for Recipes’–you should be able to have all your recipes with you, in one spot, available anywhere. Recipes can be from websites, TV shows, blogs, friends and family, and available on an iPhone, iPad, or Android phone. To make money, the site will soon offer the ability to purchase exclusive recipes and e-cookbooks, along with premium cooking videos, from some of the world’s culinary elite.

Since 1997, Phil has been using his technology know-how and willingness to work hard for community service. It began with a PTO fundraiser, for which Phil did the graphic design work. While in High School, Phil wanted to volunteer but didn’t know where to go. So, he put together a book for his peers on community service opportunities for High School Students that was published by the United Way. Additionally, Phil did design and consulting work for PLAY FOR PINK, a fundraiser for breast cancer research. Most recently, in 2010, Phil helped the Lower East Side Tenement Museum on a marketing initiative for their upcoming expansion.

Phil resides in Manhattan’s East Village. He often dines at Japanese and Japanese-inspired restaurants like Curry-ya and Momofuko Ssam Bar, and he grocery shops at the Tompkin’s Square Park green market as well as a specialty Japanese mushroom shop.